Within the main hall was a staircase. When Long Chen stepped onto the first step, the surrounding scenery instantly changed.
The scenery inside the hall had vanished, leaving Long Chen in the midst of a desolate battlefield. The steps remained, but Bai Shishi and her mother were nowhere to be seen.
"Kill!"
A furious roar echoed in Long Chen's ear, and a human warrior clad in battle armor sped over.
"Pfft"
A demon warrior was split in two by that person's blade. However, the human warrior, having just killed the demon warrior, let out a piercing scream.
He was bitten hard by a fist-sized spider on the neck. The spider, colorful and colorful, took several deep breaths, instantly turning the person into a dried corpse.
"Squeak squeak...
After devouring the human powerhouse, the spider's body trembled and it charged straight toward the distant battlefield. Following its departure, Long Chen saw countless beings locked in a frenzied battle.
Demons, vampires, demons, beasts, giants, and many other races Long Chen had never seen before were fighting fiercely, and their targets were all humans.
Long Chen knew that all he saw were illusions, but the staircase was too low to see the full battlefield, so he could only climb the stairs all the way.
As he kept climbing upward, his perspective shifted upward, revealing a farther battlefield. He discovered that the human race was actually fighting against all living beings.
No one helped the humans; they were always fighting alone, facing endless enemies. They panicked and desperate, roaring and crying out in anger, but it was all in vain.
On the battlefield, there is no compassion, no sympathy, no reasoning, and no system to speak of.
Here, only the most primal blood, cruelty, and brutality remain. Beneath the ferocious faces, desires in their hearts are intensely unleashed, and they freely reveal their ugliest side.
The sky was no longer blue, the sun and moon were obscured, and perhaps they didn't want to see this ugly side either, so they closed their eyes.
The human race struggled to hold on. Though facing the massacre of countless races, they cried and screamed while holding on, and countless times they were on the verge of collapse, yet they persevered again and again.
The resilience of humans is astonishing. Even though they have despair, they never give up and keep persevering until they die in battle. After their deaths, some pick up the weapons they left behind and continue fighting, then die again, while later generations pick up their weapons and keep fighting.
Cycle after cycle, the battlefield remains the same battlefield, but the human race keeps changing.
"What they picked up was not only the weapons of their predecessors, but also their will and responsibility.
The moment they picked up their weapons, they understood why, despite knowing there was no hope, the seniors persisted until they died in battle.
Because they had no way out, and behind them were their loved ones. If they did not hold out, their parents, wives, and children would all be tragically killed by the enemy.
They know there is no hope, yet they persist desperately, buying time for future generations to grow. Sometimes, perseverance is the only solution when there is no other way. "As Long Chen climbed higher and higher, he could overlook the entire battlefield.
He longed to rush into the battlefield and help those humans, but he knew this was just a scene. Maybe it existed, but it might not be about what happened now—maybe in the past, maybe in the future.
Long Chen didn't know why he saw such a scene. It made him feel deeply sad, but he was powerless to change it. He didn't like this feeling.
To escape this illusion as quickly as possible, Long Chen quickened his pace, and as he quickened his pace, he found that the entire battlefield had also accelerated.
The human race grew weaker and weaker, and at this moment, the human race suddenly split into countless factions, each wiped out one by one by myriad races.
"What?"
Long Chen watched with both shock and anger, because he saw that some humans had betrayed their own race and joined the enemy camp, resulting in countless human slaughter.
"Damn it,"
Long Chen was furious. He saw the traitor's figure, but now he was too far away to see who they were.
Long Chen, furious, tried to descend the stairs, but he found that the stairs could only go up, not down.
Enraged, he jumped straight down the stairs, but just as he was about to land, space twisted and he returned to his original spot.
"Damn it, who exactly are they? Who exactly betrayed the human race? Long Chen roared angrily.
He knew it was an illusion, but it must be a projection. He might have already happened, maybe it was about to happen. Long Chen wanted to see clearly, but the laws here forbade him from looking.
"Traitor,"
Long Chen gritted his teeth. What he hated most was betrayal. Since he couldn't check, Long Chen could only grit his teeth and keep moving forward.
As Long Chen continued climbing, the battlefield below suddenly vanished, turning into a lake. The lake was smooth as a mirror, reflecting a massive figure.
Long Chen stopped in his tracks and looked at that huge figure—and it was a back at that. Although it was a close, it made Long Chen's scalp tingle. He radiated an endless aura of destruction, making people feel fear from the depths of their souls.
Long Chen looked at the shadow, his eyes aching, his soul trembling, and his heart filled with unease.
"Who is this person?" How did it end up here? Long Chen stared in shock at the huge figure, his heart filled with unease.
"Buzz"—
the huge silhouette suddenly vanished, and the lake surface vanished as well. The scene before Long Chen shifted, and Bai Shishi and her mother reappeared. At this moment, Long Chen was already inside a grand hall.
Bai Shishi's face was full of excitement: "Long Chen, what did you see? I actually saw ...."
"Enough!"
Bai Shishi's mother's face suddenly changed dramatically and she shouted loudly.
"Mother... Bai
Shishi was startled. In her memory, her mother had never spoken to her so seriously.
"Anything you see is something only you know to yourself. You must not tell anyone, or it will bring terrifying karma to you and others." Bai Shishi's mother said.
"Understood, Mother!" Bai Shishi's heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly said.
Seeing Bai Shishi admit her mistake, her mother seemed to feel a bit too harsh, and softened her tone as she said, "
Shishi, it's my fault. I didn't expect you to see strange phenomena on this staircase, so I didn't give you any prior notice."
"Mother, didn't you see it?" Bai Shishi asked.
Bai Shishi's mother shook her head and said, "It's said that only those who can change their future fate can see the vision. Mother saw nothing."
Alright, that's enough for this matter. No matter what you see, don't say it out loud—remember. "
Bai Shishi and Long Chen both nodded, and the two of them followed Bai Shishi's mother forward. After passing through a doorway, they arrived at another grand hall.
Inside the main hall, there were also bone steles, but there were only nine here. Even before approaching them, the powerful summoning intent had already made Long Chen and Bai Shishi's hearts race wildly.